Extension device for garment hangers and the like



Jan. 20, 1959 R. CITRON 2,369,767

' EXTENSION mavxcz: FOR GARMENT HANGERS AND THE LIKE Filed July 2} 1957 may .Eabgrtfi Cal-ran 1M M United States Patent EXTENSION DEVICE F OR GARMENT HANGERS AND THE LIKE Robert R. Citron, Stockton, Calif.

Application July 2, 1957, Serial No. 669,618

2 Claims. (Cl. Hit-88) The instant invention relates to hangers. Particularly, it relates to extension devices for garment hangers.

It occurs to me that most persons, at one time or another, encounter the frustrating experience of attempting to hang a garment on a conventional garment hanger in a fashion that the garment hanger supports the shoulders of the garment-that is to say-in such a manner that the shoulder portions of the garment do not hang or droop over the ends of the hanger. Frequently the adjustments made are of little avail because, even after the best adjustment possible to provide support for the entire shoulder portions of, the garment by the hanger, the garment tends to assume what I will refer to as a normal hanging position and the shoulder portions thereof will thereupon be disposed beyond the ends of the garment hanger, and accordingly droop.

Primarily, the problem results by reason of the fact that conventional wire-type hangers are of a standardized width which is too narrow to support many adult garments in the fashion that the user would like. One

frequently'experiences the same difficulty with conventional or standardized wooden hangers also. Although wooden hangers are generally wider than the conventional wire hangers, unfortunately, they are not wide enough for many adult outer garments.

The real culprit is the requirement for standardization in massproduction. That is to say, as it will be apparent, that a garment hanger of any standardized width is clearly adapted to support garments in the desired fashion provided only that those garments match the width of the hanger, and, of course, the garment hanger of standardized dimension will not support garments in the desired fashion if the shoulder line islonger than that of the standard garment.

Accordingly, in an endeavor to solve this perplexing problem and as an object of this invention, I have invented and provided a unique device intended as an appendment to a garment hanger for the purpose of increasing the effective width thereof to provide support to the shoulders of garments which would normally, without the device, droop over the ends of a hanger.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a mechanism for garment hangers and the like whereby the effective width of the hanger may be optionally varied to accommodate garments having various shoulder lengths.

Additionally, it is an object of this invention to provide an adjustable extension for garment hangers and the like adapted to be used in pairs at opposite end portions of the garment hangers and which is adjustably secured to the hanger with releasable means mounting and securing same on the hanger base.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the numerals of reference thereon.

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a standardized type of garment hanger having a pair of the extension devices embodying my invention mounted thereon, a garment being illustrated, in supported positions on the hanger, in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a view taken substantially on the line 2-4; of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, only a fragment of the garment hanger being shown.

Fig. 4 is a view looking at the top of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the releasable securing mechanism as it is dismounted.

Now referring more particularly to the drawings, there is illustrated in Fig. 1 a complete garment hanger 1% The garment hanger comprises a pair of oppositely sloping supports 11, 11 which are adapted to engage under the opposite shoulder portions 12, 12 of a garment, such as a suit coat 13, which is illustrated in dotted lines. The hanger 10 has the usual upwardly extending hook 14 which in the embodiment illustrated is riveted at its lower end to a medial hanger portion 15. Hanger por tion 15 is integral with and disposed between the sloping shoulder supports 11, 11. Of course, the particular hanger embodiment illustrated is not critical to the invention as the invention is intended to be used in connection with any conventional garment hanger, such as those common hangers having hooks formed integral with the wire making up the body of the hanger.

The lower end of the hanger comprises a transversely extending rung or base 16 which, at its opposite ends, is suitably secured to the lower end portions 17, 17 of the sloping sides 11,11, as illustrated in Fig. 1. I might observe, of course, in this regard that if the hanger is a conventional garment hanger, the rung 16 is integral with the sloping members 11, 11. Suflice it to say, however, that in general configuration, the hanger has the appearance of a truncated isosceles triangular-like structure in which the sloping sides 11, 11 are formed by the legs of the triangular-like structure, and in which the rung 16 is formed by the base of the triangular-like structure, the hook 14 extending upwardly from a position roughly corresponding to the apex of the triangular-like structure.

The invention comprises a preferably elongated springlike or distendable connector or extension member generally designated by numeral 18, which is adjustably securable on the rung 16 and which retains an elongated adjustable extension or extendable element 19.

The connector or extension member 18 is characterized by a medial and upper, distendable elongated encircling portion or securing member 20 which partially encircles and frictionally engages a portion of the base or rung 16 when said connector 18 is normally disposed inoperative position. Extending downwardly from the encircling portion or securing member 20 there is an elongated restricted neck-21 which comprises a pair of opposed neck elements which are integral with the ends, respectively, of the encircling portion 20. An elongated extension gripping spreadable element or component generally designated as 22 is integral with the neck 21 and extends outwardly from the lower portion thereof. The extension gripping spreadable portion 22 comprises a pair of opposed elements 22a and 2%, which in crosssection are of generally U-shaped configuration, disposed in a'fashion to provide a wide mouth, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. The connector or extension member 18 is preferably all fabricated of a metal or plastic having inherent spring characteristics to permit bending of the neck 21 to elevate the extension gripping spreadable element or portion 22 and distending the encircling portion or securing member 2%, in the manner illustrated in solid line in Fig. 5.

able element 19 or shoulder support is adjustably gripped in the mouth formed by opposed gripper elements 22a and 225, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The extension or extendable element 19 has a transverse dimension which is substantially just slightly larger than the transverse dimension of the mouth formed by the gripper elements 22a and 2212 when the same are in operative position, so that the extension 19 will be rigidly secured in adjusted position when the connector or extension mem ber 18 is in normal operative position. The extension element 19 is preferably longer than the connector or extension member 18 to facilitate a substantial range of adjustment of the extension element.

For ideal support of the garment, each extension cicment 19 should be of sufficient length to engage the garment at the junctures 24 of its respective sleeve line 23 and its respective shoulder portion 12 with most of the shoulder portion beyond the collar of the garment supported and in engagement with the shoulder support 11. It is apparent, therefore, that the desired kind of support will be limited by the length of the neck portion 21. That is to say, the longer the neck portion 21, the larger the garment that may be accommodated in the desired fashion. Accordingly, therefore, for production purposes, the connector or extension member 18 will be provided with a neck sufliciently long to support, in the desired fashion, the largest Width of garment anticipated ordinarily to be supported by the hanger.

In actual operation, the connector or extension member 18 is used in pairs because of the usual symmetry in garments, one being mounted on each end portion of the rung or base 16. It is apparent from the drawings that by spreading the mouth or element 22, that is, by urging the U-shaped components upwardly in the fashion illustrated in solid line in Fig. 5, the encircling portion or securing member 20 will be distended and released from gripping engagement of the rung or base 16 to permit removal of the connector 18 extension member or adjustment thereof to the desired position. Furthermore, bending of the U-shaped portions 22a and 22b in the aforedescribed fashion will permit release and adjustment of extension or extendable element 19 to the desired position.

As many changes or substitutions could be made in the above described construction and as many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention within the scope of the claims could be constructed without departing from the scope and spirit thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as being illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger having a hook, a pair of sloping shoulder supports extending downwardly from said hook and a rung connected at its ends to the lower end portions of said shoulder supports; a pair of opposed elongated extension members mounted on said rung, each of said extension members comprising an elongated securing member encircling the rung and slidably mounted thereon, a pair of opposed disconnected spring-like spreadable elements connected to each securing member and pro viding therebetween a normally downwardly opening mouth, and an elongated extendable elementmovably secured in each mouth and extending laterally outwardly from said garment hanger.

2. A garment hanger having a hook, a pair of sloping shoulder supports extending away from said hook and a rung connected at its ends to the lower ends of said shoulder supports; a pair of opposed adjustable elon gated extension members slidably mounted in opposed positions on said rung and adjustable longitudinally of.

section, and forming therebetween a normally downwardly opening gripping mouth transverse to said rung, and an elongated extendable extension element normally rigidly secured by and releasably and adjustably supported in each mouth, said extension elements extending laterally beyond said hanger, said opposed elements being upwardly bendable, whereby said mouth is opened and said encircling spring is distended.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,611,517 Simonsen Sept. 23, 1952, 2,640,632 Price June 2, 1953 2,682,978 Brock July 6, 1954 2,824,678 Paul Feb. 25, 1958 

